Mennonite World Conference participates in WCC theological dialogue
Strasbourg, France (MWC) – How and where does the global church discuss issues such as the nature and mission of the church, sources of authority and moral discernment in the churches? One long-standing forum for important discussions such as these is the Faith and Order Plenary Commission of the World Council of Churches. This body, while not officially decision-making, gathered in Kolympari, Crete, 7-13 October 2009.
The topics mentioned were the key themes of the conference under the heading, “Called to be the One Church.” More than 150 participants from many countries and a wide range of church traditions gathered to listen, discuss and dialogue.
Mennonite World Conference was also invited to participate. Alfred Neufeld of Paraguay, who is the chair of MWC’s Faith and Life Commission, represented MWC. Read more
Lutheran statement expresses ‘deep regret’ for Anabaptist persecution
Chavannes-de-Bogis, Switzerland (MWC) – The Council of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has taken another critical step towards reconciliation with Anabaptists.
At its October meeting near Geneva, the council unanimously recommended that the LWF Eleventh Assembly adopt the statement “Action on the Legacy of Lutheran Persecution of ‘Anabaptists’” when it meets in Stuttgart, Germany in July 2010. The statement expresses “deep regret and sorrow” for the 16th-century violent persecution of Anabaptists by Lutherans. It asks for forgiveness from God and from Mennonites for past wrongs done to them, for having forgotten or ignored this persecution and for continuing to describe Anabaptists in damaging ways. Read more
Mennonite-Catholic news from Mennonite World Conference
Mennonite World Conference met last summer in Asunción, Paraguay for its every-sixth-year general assembly. While the central purpose of the assembly was to strengthen bonds of communion between Mennonites from around the globe, the assembly also welcomed guests from other Christian traditions, including the Anglican Church, the Baptist World Alliance, the Catholic Church, the Lutheran World Federation, the Methodist Churches, African Initiated Churches, the Salvation Army, the World Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, the World Council of Churches and the World Evangelical Alliance. Here are a couple of items gleaned from MWC news releases that will be of particular interest to Bridgefolk: Read more
Mennonites in Congo learn from Catholic experiences of self-reliance and service
The following news article caught our attention this week. Around the world, churches of all traditions find themselves working simultaneously to put down deeper roots in their own cultural locales while maintaining global ties. Here we learn of Mennonites in Congo drawing on Catholic experiences struggling to become more responsive to the needs of the poor in their midst.
Read more
Mennonite delegation well received by Catholic leaders in Rome
News Service
November 5, 2007
Strasbourg, France – Mennonites and Catholics are developing a common
statement to the World Council of Churches (WCC) as it prepares for the
International Ecumenical Peace Convocation in 2011. The convocation,
convened by the WCC, will come as the culmination of the WCC “Decade to
Overcome Violence. Churches seeking Reconciliation and Peace” (2001 – 2010). Read more
Join us in prayer, as Vatican hosts worldwide Mennonite representatives
Please join us in prayer as Mennonite delegates from 10 countries around the world travel to Rome for continuing consultations on Mennonite-Catholic dialogue and peace. Read more
Colombian Catholics and Mennonites strike new bonds at first dialogue
Bogotá, Colombia (MWC)- “I have been able to get to know a new world that I never knew before,” said Monsignor Fidel Cadavid, the bishop of Quibdo, Colombia. “Without knowing one another, it is impossible to practice ecumenism.”
Bishop Cadavid plans to connect with the Mennonite congregation in Quibdo on his return. “I see a great affinity [between our churches] in peace work. Working together, we will have more strength and be more effective in our advocacy.”
He was speaking of “Called Together to be Peacemakers,” an encounter for Catholic – Mennonite Dialogue which took place here August 15 and 16 at the Episcopal Conference of Colombia. Read more
Mennonite Central Committee leads ecumenical delegation to Iran
An ecumenical delegation organized by Mennonite Central Committee — the arm of Mennonite churches in North America for relief, development and peacemaking — has just returned from Iran. Among the delegation was David Robinson, executive director of the Catholic peace organization Pax Christi USA. Read more
Remembering the Cloud of Witnesses: 2nd Ecumenical Conference on 16th-century Martyrdom
PRESS RELEASE
Mennonite World Conference
August 12, 2004
COLLEGEVILLE, Minnesota — Mennonite and Catholic historians and theologians continued the study of 16th-century religious martyrdom that began last year. Discussions at Saint John’s Abbey, a Benedictine monastery in Minnesota, July 26-28, included plans to form an ecumenical institute for on-going scholarly research on this topic.
The conference was entitled, “Sixteenth century martyrdom in ecumenical perspective.” Ivan Kauffman, a Washington, D.C.-based writer and one of the conference organizers, provided this framework: “The church today stands between a past marred by extensive violence and a future committed to peacemaking. We must somehow connect our historical past to our very different future.”
Sixteenth-century martyrdom became a topic of ecumenical discussion when, in 1998, the Mennonite World Conference entered into a five-year dialogue with the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. Two major contributors to the international dialogue, Drew Christiansen, S.J., and Helmut Harder, spoke at this year’s martyrs conference.
